Musings about Freedom, Art and Awareness through the act of Creation.

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The Human Animal Guide

We are not born human. We are barely born to survive. We are actually pre-born. To survive and thrive we must be protected by our parents, culture or tribe for years before we can stand on our own. We have learned that even within the womb we go through stages of development and we “look” like and “act” like all the stages of our evolutionary development. We are fish, amphibians, and other animals up to an including our closest relatives the Chimpanzee. In other words, hidden within our DNA matrix is the entire history of our evolutionary stages… most of which is turned off or ignored. Less than 3% of our genetic heritage makes us into human beings physically. Thus we are not initially born human and we are barely human at that.

For this reason the 3rd sacred animal which the Toltec admired was the human. This stage of being and development for the ancients was something we “grew” into. We do not arrive fully formed and functional as humans. The first two stages, Jaguar and Eagle are related to the left and right sides of our being, tonal and nagual, stalking and dreaming…. But at some point in our development we become fully functioning human beings centered on our path…. Or at least that is the goal. At some point we know that we know, we are clear about our path and we humbly sit in the circle with other warriors/humans of awareness. In essence we come to the center of our power, the power of being human being alive.

The critical steps in this evolutionary process are many, but the significant point is we know that we know and we know that we do not know. We do not haphazardly attack something nor run from things. Frank Herbert noted in Dune that an animal in a trap will struggle and struggle until the trap consumes them. A human will mitigate their fear, suffer and be patient because they are conscious not of the pain, but that they can perceive, attack and defeat the one who trapped them. A human can endure greater struggles to reach an unattainable and unseen visible goal versus an animal, jaguar and eagle included. A human can intend and create a way out of situations. This creative act comes at the cost of a high level of discipline and training. A human can continue to discipline and train for its entire life. An animal reaches its potential and then relies on its instincts to maintain the rest of its life… teach an old dog, not often, teach an old human; always possible. The human is in constant evolution and development.

Thus the third power animal to the Toltec ancients was the human. The human is an actively creative individual who humbly knows his or her place in the greater scope of the world. A human stalks what it needs and wants as well as dreams unlimited potentials beyond its self. There is the rub though… for the minute we developed this being knowing knower (homo sapiens sapiens), we became a blaze with unlimited potential encapsulated in physical form. We doubled our energy within and this set ourselves afire in the universe. We became attractive.

This is what brought the predator or the foreign installation to our band of awareness. Because humans have become the top of the chain of life on this planet, there is essentially no predator to cull the herd, strengthen the stock. We have self awareness and creativity as our essential matrix and the ability to manipulate completely our environment to our wills. The predator or the foreign installation is the necessary evil to continue the process of evolution towards new vistas. The predator is very real. It feeds upon our excess energy by making the human feel constantly trapped. This act is the very thing that makes us human, to wait for that which trapped us to defeat it. And this is the very trick the predator uses. It instills in us its mind – the mind which believes that we are separate and pathetic, not worthy of the very act of being human. This is the ultimate and final battle of the Toltec warrior/seer on the road to being human – to not fall prey as a human to the machinations of the predator, to be FULLY HUMAN… free and creative linked to the source of the human matrix, the ability to be aware in the midst of constant change and random events that make the universe what it is.

This is why human is the third power animal for the ancients. The human perfects his/her will or personal intent and learns to combine it with Intent of the earth, creation and all that is. This means living a fully human life with a creative will. That life is not reactive nor is it superior. It is not submissive even in the worst of situations, nor is it vain glorious and vaulting of its egoic self importance… this human is a perfect representation of being fully alive. This is impeccability.

When we become fully human, we allow everything that does not serve the values of spiritual freedom and awareness to fall away like the skin shedding from a snake. Often when individuals hit this point in life (popularly called a mid-life crisis but it could happen at any age)… they shed all the stories that led them to that point. They have done what was demanded of them, like maintaining a job or career, raising children, caring for elderly parents etc, the unwritten commands and assumptions of becoming human. They are no longer becoming, they just are. They burn like fire what no longer serves the path of being human in their own right and reason. They start to create anew like a child emerging from the earthly animal womb. For some this occurs very early and they become human while others are pursuing careers or families. For others it never happens and they live out the animal part of life to its conclusion, reproducing and passing along the old stories. Either way, it was argued by the ancients that a true human is rare.

A true human does not follow nor do they lead, except by example. A true human is the fullness of their emotions and thoughts, for we can be nothing less. A true human releases every experience of being alive into the universe as though it were his or her last act… And thus a true human is by definition a spiritual warrior, a seer and a person of knowledge. Yet nothing is necessary for a human but to be a human. This again is integrity.

This power animal, this stage of being, is essential for freedom on the Toltec path. This stage of development cannot be rushed into nor manipulated. It is not a goal and yet it is an essential destination in the process flow of life. The fully human animal knows that there is more ahead on the road of life than has ever happened to it before. The fully human animal begins to see the spark of infinity glowing within and without its whole being.